Man arrested for making Nazi salute to Israeli Athletes in Munich Olympic Park

Police in the Bavarian capital, Munich, said they had arrested a man on the sidelines of the European Athletics Championships for making a Nazi salute.

The straight-armed gesture, which was a used as a greeting in Nazi Germany, was outlawed shortly after the end of World War II in both Germany and Austria.

Officers had reportedly seen the individual, a 19-year-old from Berlin, make the salute towards a group of Israeli athletes.

“One of the four security guards present was observed at around 7:20 pm making a National Socialist gesture (forbidden ‘Hitler salute’),” the statement said.

He was detained and charged with “use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations” before being released pending further proceedings.

The staff member, as well as three colleagues, were immediately banned from all European Championships events.

The Israeli athletes had not noticed the incident themselves. The 16-member group of canoeists and rowers had visited memorials to the 1972 assassination, just before the incident happened.

The incident took place at the city’s Olympic Park, which was the scene of the 1972 Olympic assassination in which 11 Israeli athletes and a German police officer were murdered. The games are taking place in the 50th anniversary year of the killings by Palestinian terror group Black September.

Marion Schöne, head of the organizing committee and the Olympic Park, condemned the antisemitic incident “in the strongest possible terms.”

She said the Olympic Park stands “for cosmopolitanism and diversity. We welcome people from all over the world and have a special responsibility because of the 1972 assassination.”

The employee was immediately dismissed by the service provider, she said. “We will not accept such deplorable actions and are glad that the police were able to arrest the perpetrator,” Schöne said, “We regret this occurrence and hope that our Israeli guests continue to feel comfortable in Munich despite this unspeakable incident.”

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